Friends Stick Together Till the End
by MontMomo
Summary: When Timon and Pumbaa rescued Simba, they didn't expect they would raise him as their own. They also didn't expect the young cub would become their friend. Or that the friendship would change all of their lives forever.
1. Prologue

**A/N: My first fic! The prologue is short, but the chapters will get longer as the story goes on.**

**Disclaimer: I do not own Lion King. I do own some Lion King merchandise.**

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Rescuing a predator wasn't exactly on Timon's list of great ideas. Of coarse when Pumbaa first asked to keep the cub, Timon's first thought was no. But, after cleverly realizing all on his own that the lion could be on their side, Timon decide he and Pumbaa would help the little guy. Timon had to admit, the cub was cute. For a lion, that is. Hopefully he wasn't too hungry

Lucky for for the meerkat and warthog, his first thought after gaining consciousness wasn't hunger for a meerkat casserole and roasted ham. No, the forlorn kid just thanked the duo for helping him, and left for nowhere. And, being the selfless meerkat he was, Timon didn't let the sad little lion leave on his own. After a not so appreciated joke, Timon and Pumbaa learned that the kid, like them, was an outcast, and couldn't go back home. Poor kid.

That was when Timon and Pumbaa gave the kid a good ol' lesson in Hakuna Matata. Turn your back on the world, forget the past, no worries. A great philosophy and a great problem solver.

The cub wasn't convinced at first, but after telling him of Pumbaa gas-filled past, the lion joined they're worry free bachelor's club. And he ended up liking grubs, too. Timon knew it was a beginning of a beautiful friendship. but, little did he know, or any of the trio knew, their lives would never be the same again…

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**A/N: Reviews are appreciated!**


	2. Slimy Yet Satisfying

**A/N: Took me a while, but here is Chapter 2.**

**Disclaimer: I do not own Lion King. I do own some Lion King merchandise.**

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Chapter 2

"Welcome to our humble home!" The meerkat said as he lifted a large leaf, revealing the rest of the oasis.

But it wasn't an oasis. It was a paradise. Luscious trees, proud mountains that touched the sky, swiftly flowing rivers and vast waterfalls. It was like a land you would only see in your dreams. But it was all real.

"You live here?" Simba asked in aw. The meerkat shrugged casually, "We live wherever want."

"Yep!" The warthog added, partially blocking Simba's view, "Home is where your rump rests!"

Too aw-stricken to correct the warthog's phrase, the golden cub only replied, "It's beautiful."

The meerkat lead Simba and the warthog away from the ledge and onto a dirt path.

"Come on, kid! We shall give the grand tour!"

The meerkat began pointing out areas on the path. Such as where he and the warthog slept, where they usually swam and where the main watering hole was located. The warthog explained they both knew the oasis very well, which made the meerkat start boasting about how he knew the jungle like the back of his paw. He soon stopped after tripping over a root he didn't realize was there.

Simba wondered how they found this paradise, and when they did. Did they always live here, or did they just move in last week? Simba decided he ask at a later date, when he knew his new friends a little better.

The three continued to stroll, now calm and quiet. The silence was soon broken by a a loud belch. Gross. It was the pig, who then boldly proclaimed,

"I'm starved!"

Simba had a small and sudden epiphany. He hadn't eaten anything in over three days. Did he even eat the day of the incident? He couldn't remember. Some zebra would be nice right now…

"I'm so hungry, I could eat a whole zebra," Simba told them, implying what he hoped would be his lunch. When Simba said this, this meerkat was walking over a root, making sure he didn't trip on one this time. But he then stopped dead in his tracks when he became fully aware of what the young cub said.

"Ah, we're fresh outta zebra," The meerkat pointed out with a nervous chuckle. Okay, so no zebra. Simba was fine with that, he didn't need zebra. Of course they must have…

"Any antelope?" There's gotta be some antelope! Antelope were always around.

"Nu-uh." Okay, that's strange, no antelope, best two out of three…

"Hippo?" The brownish-gold cub sounded desperate, but it didn't matter, because at this point, he was.

"Nope." For the past kings' sakes, how can you not have hippo? What kind of paradise doesn't even have the simplest of animals?

"Listen, kid," The meerkat said, walking to away from him, "If you live us, ya have to eat like us. Hey," He started walked over to a mossy, hollowed out log, pointing to it with his thumb, informing the warthog and Simba, "Here's a good spot to rustle up some grub!"

The warthog smiled, trotting over to the log. Simba followed close behind. The pig then proceeded to lift the log with his snout and tusks, showing off the grubs.

"Eww, what's that?" Simba asked. What was the meerkat holdIng? It was plump orange creature, like many of the others. All those squirmy, crawly, little creatures were all around. There had to be hundreds, maybe thousands. Disgusting.

"A grub. What's it look like?" The meerkat looked at him like Simba should have known that was his food. Who would eat that? And then the meerkat snarfed the thing down. Whole.

"Eww, gross!"

The meerkat licked his fingers, getting the juice off of them, telling the cub,

"Tastes like chicken." Simba honestly didn't know what a chicken was. A fruit, possibly? These thoughts went away as soon as Simba saw the warthog slurp up a pink snake-like grub, telling the disgusted cub,

"Slimy, yet satisfying!"

The two kept on eating the grubs, chewing with there mouth wide open.

"These are rare delicacies." The meerkat exclaimed, eating half of a red grub.

"Piquant, with a very pleasant crunch," then eating the rest of it. That didn't really disturb as much as what happened next. The warthog thought it would be alright to have a mouthful of grubs and chew them with his mouth open while saying,

"You learn to love them!"

It horrified the poor cub. Simba looked backed at the meerkat, who was now holding a leaf with a pile of grubs on it. He was grabbing more on them from the log.

"I'm telling you kid," The meerkat began," This is the great life. No rules no responsibilities. Ooh, the little cream-filled kind!" The meerkat put the blue grub in his mouth instead of on the pile he was carrying, "And best of all," He said, walking over to Simba and Pumbaa, "No worries."

The meerkat then lifted the bug pile on the leaf closer to Simba's face.

"Well kid?" He asked, as if taking one of the grubs would be Simba's way of excepting the "Hakuna Matata" life. So this was his life now. No turning back.

"Oh well," The cub said, "Hakuna Matata."

Then, he put the grub into his mouth. He could feel it wiggling around in his mouth as he swallowed, and the grub's legs as it went down his throat. Simba didn't know if he would ever be able to eat again after that. But, after the torture of eating the bug, it did leave a pungent, savory aftertaste. It actually wasn't half bad.

"Slimy, yet satisfying," Simba said, fully understanding why the duo loved those grubs so much. The meerkat smiled at the cub, only replying happily with,

"That's it."

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**A/N: Reviews are appreciated!**


	3. A Proper Introduction

**A/N:**** Well, this certainly took a while. I had writer's block for three weeks on this chapter, I became very busy, did an awful lot of re-writes. But, finally, here it is!**

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"So kid, ya gotta name?"

That was what the meerkat asked, between the bites of his grub. It was a simple question, that had a simple answer. His name was Simba, nothing more, nothing less. Not the prince, not the future king. Just Simba. That's who he was. Now and forever

"My name's Simba," he replied, after swallowing a green grub. The meerkat thought for a moment.

"Simba," He said, liking the sound of it, "quaint yet simple.

"I like it!" warthog added, wagging his tail. Simba smiled softly.

"Thanks," Simba replied, almost timidly, "What are your names?"

"Well kid, I'm Timon," The meerkat told Simba. Timon then gestured his front paw to the warthog, "My flatulent friend here's called Pumbaa."

"Please to make your acquaintance!" Pumbaa replied. Simba smiled at that.

"Timon and Pumbaa, I like it," After Simba's comment, the three continued to munch of grubs.

The meerkat. Timon.

The warthog. Pumbaa.

Timon and Pumbaa. Apart, it sounded a little strange, but together, the two names fit perfectly together. As if the Great King's had planned for the two to meet one day. Not that he would ever know. Even if he did became a King somehow, somewhere, Simba wouldn't be up there with the Great Kings. Simba wasn't great. But father was. He was probably up there with them now. All because of Simba.

"Hey kid, Simba, you alright?"

"Huh?" Simba muttered, snapping back into reality. Had Timon been talking to him the entire time?

"You've been looking at your grub for a while," Timon pointed out as his concerned look turned into a light smirk, "Not having second thoughts are you?"

Simba shook his head slowly, swallowing the small grub before saying,

"No, it's not that I'm just… I'm just tired. That's all. I've had a long couple of days."

Luckily, Timon and Pumbaa respected what the ex-prince had said earlier, and didn't ask any further questions. They would probably hate him if they found out what he did. Timon and Pumbaa might make him leave, and Simba couldn't bear the idea of losing his new friends. It was that very moment Simba decided he would never tell his friends about who he was, no matter what.

Simba noticed that Timon was looking toward the direction of the sun, seeing that it was beginning to set. That made Simba wonder, how long have they been eating? It was high noon when Timon and Pumbaa woke him… Simba looked back at his companions, and noticed them getting up. He got up from his seated position as well.

"Where are we going?" Asked the cub, following his friends as they walked toward a dirt path, the cub following behind.

"Bed. What, do lions not sleep or something?" Timon questioned with a raised eyebrow.

"No… Just didn't know…" Simba mumbled awkwardly, continuing to follow his friends quietly.

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Simba couldn't believe it. This couldn't be happening.

"You two want me to cross that thing?"

Simba prayed to the past kings that Timon and Pumbaa just had an odd sense of humor.

But Timon was already half way across the bridge-like log, so he probably wasn't kidding. And Pumbaa was on the other side.

"Come on, kid, it's a short cut to our nest!" The meerkat yelled, his front paws cupping his muzzle.

"Are you sure it's safe, Timon?" Simba asked, nervous of crossing the log. It didn't look very safe from Simba's perspective.

"Look kid," Timon explained, "If it can carry Pumbaa, it can carry anyone!"

"Exactly!" Pumbaa added, then giving a sudden look of realization, "Wait a minute… Timon are you implying that you think I'm fat."

Timon rolled his eyes, not turning to look at his friend, "Well, think, probably not. But let's face it, Pumbaa, you aren't exactly Joe Skinny."

"I am at an average warthog weight. And who is this Joe Skinny?"

"Joe Skinny isn't anyone, Pumbaa! It was just an expression!" As Timon said that, he began to cross the other half of the moss log, toward Pumbaa.

"Then why would you say it? What kind of name is Joe anyway?"

"It-It's a meerkat name!"

As the two outcast continued their nonsensical bickering, Simba looked down at the log. It didn't look very hollowed out, so it could probably hold him. Simba was also a lion, and a brave one, for that matter.

So he screwed his eyes shut and took a step on the log.

And he didn't fall.

Simba opened his eyes, double-checking that he wasn't dead. No, his friends were still arguing about something called a "Joe." Odd. With that, Simba took another step on the another, and another and soon enough, he crossed that mossy log with ease. Ha! So now Simba was brave _and _agile!

Simba was now with his friends again, who were still arguing.

"And, you're far too slow to be part cheetah. You also-"

"Uh, Timon? Pumbaa?"

The meerkat and warthog stopped there bickering abruptly, giving confused looks to their friend.

"Uh…" said Pumbaa, "How long have we been here?"

"Not very long," Simba replied, "Why do you ask?"

The duo glanced at each other, then, with a shake of his head, Timon replied, "Forget it. You crossed the log, that's all that matters."

"So," Simba said, "Bed?"

Timon and Pumbaa simply nodded, replying with,

"Yes."

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**A/N: One of my few TLK headcanons is that meerkats have more average English (Well, non-Swahili word) names. (Iron) Joe and Max are pretty average names. They're probably going to be more Shakspeare characters name, like Timon's name (though it's pronounced differently) is. The next chapter will (hopefully) be up sooner.**

**Reviews are very much appreciated, as well as constructive criticism. They help motivate me to write. And, if you have any story ideas for future chapters, I would love to here them.**


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